Minister of Post and Telecom opens consultation meeting for operators

Ministry for Posts, Telecom and Technology organized a consultation meeting for the telecom operators and ISPs to brief them about the progress being made by the Ministry on the implementation of the communications law, including establishment of the regulatory body.

The Implementation Task Team, which is providing technical assistance to establishment of National Communications Authority (NCA), presented a roadmap of their work as individual consultants and as institutions, like Kalba International and their local partner, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies (HIPS). Abdirashid Khalif, executive director of HIPS, said the sector has a golden opportunity by having a committed leadership both at the Ministry and at NCA and local and international advisors supporting the process.

Abdi Sheik Ahmed, the new director of NCA, thanked the President, Prime Minister, the Cabinet and Minister of Post and Telecom and his deputies for trusting him to lead this important institution. “I am humbled to be given this opportunity to serve my country under this capacity. I will try my best to make sure NCA meets high standards of efficiency and integrity,” he added.

In his opening remarks, H.E. Eng Abdi Ashur Hassan, Minister for Post, Telecom and Technology, recalled the various stages of consultation meetings that led to the successful passage of the communications law. He added, “Formal consultations will be one of the formal means of communication between the authority and the sector when NCA is established. We will continue and formalize that process through NCA.”

The Minister said the tasks in front of the Ministry are as important and enormous as they were during the passage of the law in 2017. “We are building an institution that is new to Somalia, so every stakeholder has to take their role effectively,” concluded the minister.